Red Riding Hood
by Azure Dragon of the North
Summary: Raze finds a girl in an alley and takes her home. This is bascially a Raze fic.
1. Default Chapter

Red Riding Hood  
  
Heavy rock pounded into the club, filling the darkness with noise that held the patrons at bay. Lights swirled above them but never reached the shadows below. The shadows moved as the bodies shifted their collective weight. Parting slowly like a black wall; opening to release the girl from the darkness.   
  
Dare staggered into the music and looked around at the scene. Her headache was getting worse; this was no place to be. Staggering her way to the illuminated doors, she pushed out into the night and leaned on the wall. Her stomach was tight as her insides rebelled against her. Sinking to her knees she closed her eyes and sank into being physically sick.  
  
Raze lifted his muzzle to the winds and drew in a deep breath. The rain was close and it would come tonight. For now the night was thick with human stench and city smells. He turned away from the street and ran down an alley. His feet slapped the pavement as he moved from light to shadow and back. His black sweat pants were damp from sweat and water. His bare torso glittered as he moved. Turning his head this way and that, he followed his nose. He had given up trying to find all his Pack-mates. They had scattered after Lucian's death three months ago. Most of them had fled the city once news of a hybrid reached their ears.   
  
Raze and three others were all he knew about that had remained. Three wasn't enough to exact the vengeance he had hungered for since that long ago night.   
  
Dare lifted her head from the wet stones and blinked away the haze. She was shivering in the cold pre-dawn air. Her clothes were wet and she was lying in a pool of something gross. Rolling herself out of it took all her strength and left her lying in the middle of the alley. She didn't have the energy to care as her mind shut off and she fell away.   
  
Raze cut left sharply and raced down the alley, chasing the first light of dawn. His stride was long and powerful. His feet moved with the barest of whispers as he charged forward. His stride broke suddenly at the sight of a body in his path. Only his supernatural agility kept him from tripping over the girl. He gazed down at her as his chest heaved and steam rose off him.   
  
She lay on her front, with her arms trapped under her body. The black of her clothes hid the mess that stained the air. Raze coughed at the acid bite of bile and other bodily chemicals. He stared at her and snorted in disgust. Another human waste. He turned and moved to leave when she moved suddenly. It was such a small motion that a human would have missed it. But there was a twitch to her limbs that said she was alive.   
  
Without knowing why he knelt down at her head and rolled her over with a single hand. Her face was too pale, dark bruises said she had been hit lately. Scratches went down her face and cut into her neck. Raze narrowed his eyes at the sight of something familiar. He lifted her up and wiped the dried blood away. His wet hands smeared it across her skin but he could see the wound. It was something he knew all too well.  
  
Tearing his eyes away from the girl, he looked at the lightening shadows. Nothing would move now. It was too close to dawn for them to attack. Turning back to the girl he considered leaving her. She was beyond help anyway. But there was something in him that refused to move. Heaving a sigh he lifted her in his arms and carried her into the sunrise. 


	2. rrh 2

Red Riding Hood

Raze stopped pacing hours ago. Instead he was just staring. His gaze was locked onto the form in the bed. The bed frame was nothing more then metal pipes welded together with a worn out mattress on it. The sheets and blankets were stolen and did little to give warmth.

But the figure on the bed; that was what held him. Three days ago he had found in her an alley. Not five feet from a vampire den. At first it seemed like a trap. But the girl had been too badly hurt for that. And it had been too near dawn. The vampires would have wanted him to come sooner. No, the girl was not a trap.

Raze finally sat with a heavy sound. The small chair barely held him, but it managed. Who was she? He asked himself. There had been no ID. She was young, perhaps twenty-three. Her clothes said she was a backpacker; perhaps a tourist?

He frowned harder at the lack of answers. The cynic in him screamed that she was a trap. But the rest of him wasn't sure.

Dare struggled to surface in her own mind. It was like swimming in the dark and not knowing which way was up. She felt lost and confused. Perhaps if she moved that would help? It took tremendous effort to move her left hand. The fingers barely twitched.

The girl moved; it was a whisper of motion. Raze tensed as his werewolf eyes caught it. He saw the tension settle in her face as she struggled. Without realizing it he was standing.

Dare forced herself to move again, she pushed her awareness into her body. She was hurt and sick, that she knew instantly. But she also sensed a presence. A large shape was looming near her. For an instant she wondered what it would be. Perhaps it was dangerous to her? Then all at once her mind opened and she was thrown into consciousness.

Raze was leaning over her when her eyes snapped open. He gasped at their color. They were the color of moonlight! Silver with white and just enough blue to make you notice the first two. Her hair was black like the night sky and framed her eerie eyes. He stepped away from her as she breathed in with a loud sound.

She knew someone had been watching. The man was large like a bear with a stunning upper body. His dark eyes had widened in surprise as she breathed in. He was bald but it suited him. There was something strange about him. It was subtle and just below the surface, but Dare knew it to be dangerous. She sat up and her body didn't like her. She wavered on the edge of the bed for a moment. Finally everything stopped swirling; her eyes looked around.

The room was an empty, vacant place, nothing more then a hole in a wall. The bed was makeshift with metal pipes for the frames.

"The wonders of Europe never cease," She muttered. It struck her as odd that she would have a sense of humor. Why wasn't she scared out of her mind?

Raze kept staring at her, she was beautiful! He'd never seen anyone like her before. He shoved the thoughts away with anger. There was nothing about her he liked. She was nothing more then food.

Dare pulled in another deep breath and felt pain at her neck. Her right hand brushed a thick bandage. For a minute she tried to think of how she got hurt there. She only came up with fragments: Bright lights, crowded dance floor, glittering eyes.

She stood up and had to grab the nearest thing to stay upright. It just happened to be a massive arm. She held onto his mocha colored arm and was amazed at the whiteness of her own. Against him she seemed to shine.

Raze jumped when she touched him. It wasn't intentional, she'd been about to fall. But had he moved closer? Had he wanted to help her? No! He told himself; that was crazy. He pulled his arm away from her ignoring the thought that she was lovely. The girl wobbled and sat back on the bed. He moved away from her.

Both of them jumped at the sound of a knocking hand. The door opened, it was Hans.

"Raze, we found something." He glanced at Dare and backed out of the room.

Raze left the room and slammed the door shut. His arm wouldn't stop tingling where she had grabbed him. He vaguely remembered Lucian telling him a story about a similar feeling. The large werewolf shrugged it off as he followed Hans.


End file.
